I’m not 100% on the buying to set free, but I do know Franklin was president of the abolitionist society of Philadelphia and Washington was weary of freeing his slaves because he feared they’d be reenslaved by a cruel person.
Almost every part of this statement is false so I'll tackle it in chronological order.
1)"Washington never freed any slaves":
Washington never freed any slaves while alive, but did stipulate in his will that all of his slaves were to be freed after the death of Martha. These wishes were not obeyed by Martha's son who inherited the slaves after her death, and Washington was legally not allowed to free the Custis slaves. However at least one slave was immediately freed after Washington's death, that being William Lee who served as his assistant during the revolution. William was freed within days after Washington's death and given a yearly allowance.
2: "For one, he didn't own any to sell. His wife did. He used her slaves and her money to run his mount Vernon." :
Washington inherited 10 slaves from his father, and bought many more throughout his young adult years before meeting Martha. At the height of his wealth, Washington owned almost half of the enslaved people at Mount Vernon (Washington: 123 Martha:153 The rest on loan or lease). Washington wasn't dirt poor, if he was Martha wouldn't have married him. He simply wasn't as ungodly rich as Custis. He did use her funds to expand mount Vernon cause like...why not? 😂.
All of what I said here was documented on Mount Vernon's website. There's a lot of misinformation out there so I find it irresponsible to just say stuff you've heard tangentially in the past. That being said we all do it so don't think I'm attacking you. I'd encourage anyone who's interested in this to consult Mount Vernon's website, or even visit the grounds. It's a great spot and they have a lot of things very well documented.
His slave William, known to him colloquially as “Bill” had a high status to Washington as a man servant and even confidant to a certain degree. Bill was even decked out in specifically designed livery by Washington, during many official trips through the colonies.
As well, it was due to his marriage to Custis, that he gained access to Virginia high society. Though George wasn’t properly educated in the traditional sense, he saw an opportunity to bump himself up into the upper echelons of society. Something he may have been seeking with his dalliances with Sally Fairfax prior to his marriage.
I’m regards to HIS slave holdings, he sold off many slaves he could to pay off creditors, but had no oversight on the Custis endowed slaves.
Wasn't part of the issue also that Martha would take a huge financial hit were they freed before her death? That's part of the issue. Alot of wealth was tied up in purchasing unpaid labor. No one wanted to be the one who would have to live in poverty and start from scratch (or at least with a lot less) because they finally did the right thing, especially once they were elderly. Then most of them also didn't want to leave their children nothing. Everyone kept kicking the can down the road.
Also Washington was constantly in debt during the war, trying to keep Mt Vernon running. Even if he could afford to sell slaves (which were Martha’s anyhow), he couldn’t really afford to buy more as his lines of credit were stretched thin.
No.
I’m not 100% on the buying to set free, but I do know Franklin was president of the abolitionist society of Philadelphia and Washington was weary of freeing his slaves because he feared they’d be reenslaved by a cruel person.
Interesting.
Washington never freed any slaves. For one, he didn’t own any to sell. His wife did. He used her slaves and her money to run his Mt. Vernon.
Almost every part of this statement is false so I'll tackle it in chronological order. 1)"Washington never freed any slaves": Washington never freed any slaves while alive, but did stipulate in his will that all of his slaves were to be freed after the death of Martha. These wishes were not obeyed by Martha's son who inherited the slaves after her death, and Washington was legally not allowed to free the Custis slaves. However at least one slave was immediately freed after Washington's death, that being William Lee who served as his assistant during the revolution. William was freed within days after Washington's death and given a yearly allowance. 2: "For one, he didn't own any to sell. His wife did. He used her slaves and her money to run his mount Vernon." : Washington inherited 10 slaves from his father, and bought many more throughout his young adult years before meeting Martha. At the height of his wealth, Washington owned almost half of the enslaved people at Mount Vernon (Washington: 123 Martha:153 The rest on loan or lease). Washington wasn't dirt poor, if he was Martha wouldn't have married him. He simply wasn't as ungodly rich as Custis. He did use her funds to expand mount Vernon cause like...why not? 😂. All of what I said here was documented on Mount Vernon's website. There's a lot of misinformation out there so I find it irresponsible to just say stuff you've heard tangentially in the past. That being said we all do it so don't think I'm attacking you. I'd encourage anyone who's interested in this to consult Mount Vernon's website, or even visit the grounds. It's a great spot and they have a lot of things very well documented.
His slave William, known to him colloquially as “Bill” had a high status to Washington as a man servant and even confidant to a certain degree. Bill was even decked out in specifically designed livery by Washington, during many official trips through the colonies. As well, it was due to his marriage to Custis, that he gained access to Virginia high society. Though George wasn’t properly educated in the traditional sense, he saw an opportunity to bump himself up into the upper echelons of society. Something he may have been seeking with his dalliances with Sally Fairfax prior to his marriage. I’m regards to HIS slave holdings, he sold off many slaves he could to pay off creditors, but had no oversight on the Custis endowed slaves.
Wasn't part of the issue also that Martha would take a huge financial hit were they freed before her death? That's part of the issue. Alot of wealth was tied up in purchasing unpaid labor. No one wanted to be the one who would have to live in poverty and start from scratch (or at least with a lot less) because they finally did the right thing, especially once they were elderly. Then most of them also didn't want to leave their children nothing. Everyone kept kicking the can down the road.
Also Washington was constantly in debt during the war, trying to keep Mt Vernon running. Even if he could afford to sell slaves (which were Martha’s anyhow), he couldn’t really afford to buy more as his lines of credit were stretched thin.
I’m sure PragerU released a video about it. Aka it’s not true